Independent Data Analysis of the PEAK Quality Initiative Documents a 25% Improvement In Mortality Rate for Dialysis Patients Within the First 90 Days Of Treatment, 13.6% Improvement In First Year Rate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, October 8 at 1 p.m. ET, Kidney Care Partners will host a Webinar to discuss the success of the PEAK (Performance Excellence and Accountability in Kidney Care) Quality Campaign. The PEAK initiative spurred a 25 percent reduction in mortality rates for dialysis patients in the first 90 days of treatment and a nearly 14 percent reduction in the first-year rate, according to an analysis of data prepared by Brown University*.

Launched in 2009, the PEAK Campaign was a voluntary community initiative designed to highlight proven practices with the goal of improving the survival of kidney failure patients new to dialysis. Available data at the time indicated that overall survival rates for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) had been improving, but, by comparison, the first-year mortality rate had remained relatively stagnant.

To monitor the kidney care community's efforts to improve first-year survival rates, KCP partnered with researchers at Brown University who analyzed government data sets that include information on patient deaths. Researchers from within the kidney care community served as a technical advisory panel to assist Brown researchers with interpreting the data.

Dr. Vincent Mor, the Florence Pirce Grant Professor of Community Health in the Brown School of Public Health Program, and Dr. Edward Jones, chairman elect of Kidney Care Partners, will describethe PEAK program and will document the associated decline in mortality among dialysis patients and discuss the potential for these quality improvements to continue.

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Vincent Mor, the Florence Pirce Grant Professor of Community Health in the Public Health Program of the Brown University School of Medicine

Kidney Care Partners is a community-wide coalition of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, researchers, care providers and manufacturers dedicated to working together to improve quality of care for individuals with chronic kidney disease. To learn more, visit www.kidneycarepartners.com.